Kenyan Masala Chai (Spiced Tea)

If you know me well, you know that I am a lover of tea. I have several jars of different types of tea in my Kitchen cupboard. And I drink them according to my mood.

The first time I tried this tea was at my Kenyan Aunty's house- it's one of the things I look forward to whenever I go to hers and I don't think I ever have just one mug of this tea, I must have a minimum of 2! It's that good! Gosh I must say it is the best tea I have ever had and I can definitely say it's one of my top 2 favourite tea! (Comment below what you think my other favourite tea is).

This tea although originating from India, is a very popular tea in Kenya. Kenya itself is one of the largest tea exporters in the world. Although you would associate hot beverages to colder climate, come rain come sunshine, Kenyans love their tea! And Chai Masala is a the popular one. Serving this tea is part of Kenyan hospitality, just like the way you would offer someone a glass of water at least when they visit you.

One of the reasons I love this tea is mainly because of the spice. I'm a lover of spices and like I mentioned earlier, a lover of tea. So a combination of both is divine on my taste buds. Even though I drink tea all year round, I think and prefer Chai Masala for the Autumn & Winter months here in the UK. The milkiness and especially the spices gives me winter/autumn vibes. However you can still enjoy this whatever time of the year. Also you can enjoy this tea not just for breakfast but as lunch, dinner and whenever. Get you a tea that can do it all!

Right, enough of my praises of this tea, check out the recipe below and enjoy!

(Please note, people cook it differently depending on the region of Kenya, but this is the way my Kenyan Aunty taught me how and it taste divine to me!)

Ingredients (serves 2 cups)

• 2 1/2 cups of milk

• 2 Star Anise

• 5 cloves

• Ginger- half a piece

• 1 large cinnamon stick

• Cardamon; 8 - 10 seeds

• 2 tea bags (or small portion of leaves- depending on how strong you like your tea)

• Sugar (optional)

Process

• In a pot, pour the milk into it and bring to boil on medium heat.

• As the milk begins to boil, put in the all the spices. ( Make sure you crush the cardamon in order to open it up for the seeds to infuse into the milk).

• Allow the spices and milk to boil for another few minutes. If you're using tea leaves, you can add it in at this stage to boil together.

• Using a mesh strainer, drain the milk out of the spices into your tea mug

• After draining out the milk, put in the tea bag in for about 1-2 minute depending on how strong you like your tea.

• If you prefer add sugar and stir and that's it!

You can enjoy this with Mandazi (it's is a lovely combination- and I will be posting a recipe for this soon) or whatever you prefer your tea. I will be posting other Kenyan dishes that goes well with this tea! So watch this space!

Love

Debby x